Love Is A Losing Game
by berrywarbler
Summary: Rachel and Blaine should have known that they would have eventually changed after living with Sebastian for so long. seblainchel
1. Chapter 1

"Sebastian! If I have to tell you one more time to pick up your towels off the floor, I'm going to deposit them all on your bed!" Rachel yelled, picking up the offending item and throwing it into the hamper in their small bathroom. They'd been living together, along with Blaine, for nearly two years and both boys somehow managed to still get under her skin time and time again.

"I'm so sorry, your highness," Sebastian said with a smirk as he walked by, completely amused, and she could hear Blaine's laughter from their kitchen where he was making coffee for all three of them before they headed off on their separate ways to work.

"That's what you said the last two hundred times it happened," she grumbled as she turned on the shower, kicking the door closed before she undressed. She'd made the mistake of leaving the door open one day when she thought they were gone, only to be startled when Blaine started harmonizing along to her song while brushing his teeth, and she'd learned quickly after that that if she wanted privacy, doors were to remain closed at all times.

It had been weird, at first, living with two guys, especially after everything with Kurt had blown up in their junior year at NYADA. Blaine had been kind enough to open his door to her, and when the two ran into Sebastian a year later when their lease was up, it seemed logical to take in the minimally nicer boy into their move. They had, after all, all grown up and matured and could put the past of rock salt slushies and almost-stalking behind them. Still, Rachel often found herself wondering why she didn't take up any of her co-stars offers to move in together when she was stuck listening to Blaine go on and on about some sports team she had no interest in, or Sebastian discuss-far too explicitly-his latest liaison. Completely needlessly, of course, because by the circles underneath Blaine's eyes she could tell he got about as much sleep as she did from the racket emerging from Sebastian's bedroom.

By the time Rachel emerged from the bathroom, scurrying to her room in her pink towel, Blaine was already heading towards their apartment door, placing a small kiss on her cheek as he passed her, muttering about how he was going to be late. She waved before ducking into her room, throwing on her dance practice attire before throwing her hair up, running late herself. She'd never been late for rehearsals yet, and only hoped her director would let it slide the one time.

She was, after all, only 23 and already working her way into a leading spot in an off-Broadway production that was making headlines, rumors that it'd be moved to a real Broadway theater if given enough time to prosper and grow, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a large part of that. The first article that came out, a snippet in the arts section of the New York Times of all things, was framed and hung in their living room by an overly proud Blaine, Sebastian rolling his eyes as he hugged her and whispered that he was proud of her too.

It was a weird relationship the three of them shared, Rachel and Blaine far more compassionate than Sebastian, but he seemed to work well in their mix, even if he was constantly driving Rachel mad by not picking up after himself. She couldn't imagine a life without the two of them in it anymore, couldn't imagine not being able to come home at nearly 2 in the morning after rehearsals ran much later than normal only to find a plate of pasta in the fridge with her name on it in Sebastian's small script, waking up in the morning to coffee in her gold star mug already prepped by Blaine.

As she finished getting ready to head out the door, her eyes fell on the ring sitting on her bedside table, the one her boyfriend of almost a year and a half had proposed with nearly two days ago now, and knew what her answer had to be.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean 'no'?" Craig demanded, Rachel sighing as she tried to hand him back the black velvet box.<p>

"I'm not saying 'never'," she tried to explain as he pushed it away from him as if it would set his body on fire. "I'm saying that I've made this mistake once, getting engaged before I was truly ready to settle down, and it only hurt more in the long run when I became a divorcée before I was even 19!"

"If you don't see us going anywhere further than this, than what's the point in even being together!" he yelled, and she winced as she heard the front door open down the hall, heard Blaine and Sebastian laughing about something as they moved into the kitchen. She cringed that they'd be able to hear the fight she had so desperately tried to avoid.

"I didn't say I didn't see a future for us!" she pleaded, keeping her voice down so as to not alert her roommates. "I'm saying that I'm only 23, that my career is only just now taking off-"

"Exactly, and soon you'll be too busy to even carry on a relationship, so what's the fucking point?" he continued, not bothering to lower his voice, and she took a deep breath to steady herself as she heard silence pour in from the other room. "I asked you to marry me because I want to be with you, Rachel, forever-"

"Then what is the harm in waiting a couple more years? It'll still be forever-"

"I don't want to wait," he hissed, turning around and slamming her bedroom door closed as he moved through the apartment, waiting until he heard the front door slam before she crumped onto the floor to let out the tears that came with such a surprising ease, only aware of Blaine opening her bedroom door and calling her name softly before Sebastian pulled her to her feet and dragged her to the living room, the two of them snuggling close on either side of her as they put on her favorite movies and let her mourn.

* * *

><p>It was Sebastian who took her out a few nights later, telling the bartender to open a tab because it was his job to make sure Rachel got <em>extremely <em>drunk. She didn't argue, in an almost coma-like state since the breakup, a frown on her face as she played with her glass.

"He was a douche anyways," Sebastian said with a shrug, pounding back his own beer faster than she was drinking her long island ice tea. "I would know."

"That's true," Rachel said, trying to make it sound like a joke-because it was, for the most part. Sebastian was an asshole to most of the world, but Rachel was one of the two who had seen him at his weakest, seen him fall apart, even if he wanted to pretend he never did any such thing.

"See, look, you're already gaining your vague sense of humor back," he grinned, pushing her drink closer towards her. She simply rolled her eyes at him before picking it up and swallowing half the cup in one go, the alcohol burning her throat on its way to her stomach, ignoring the smile that grew on his face as he looked around the bar. "Now that part one of the plan is set into action," he said, Rachel merely raising an eyebrow in response, "It's time for part two."

"There are parts to this plan? I thought Blaine was the one who came up with multifaceted plans."

"If you're still using words like 'multifaceted', you're not drunk enough," Sebastian reprimanded, and she sighed before taking another large drink. "And yes, it's got multiple parts. After all, I don't want to have to deal with walking into my living room in fear that you've taken it over to rewatch _The Notebook _for the seventeenth time in three days while sobbing about how 'their love is so pure!'" he mocked, shushing Rachel's objection that it was with a glare.

"I only did that once," she muttered quietly, focusing on the drink in front of her once more.

"So the second part of the plan is to get you laid," Sebastian continued over her, as if she hadn't spoken. She opened her mouth to argue, but his attention was diverted as he scoped out the area around them, presumably for someone for her.

"I don't want to get laid!" she cried out, probably louder than she should have as others turned to glance at her, Sebastian fighting off a chuckle next to her.

"I know you don't," Sebastian grinned, "That's why you're getting drunk enough to agree that it's better for you if you do. You'll move on faster."

"How would you even know? Have you had a relationship that lasted longer than an hour?" she shot back, feeling slightly dizzy as the alcohol started pumping through her bloodstream.

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous," he responded with a wave of his hand. "And you know why? Because someone always gets hurt, Rachel, just like you are now."

"If he could have just-"

"Waited, yes, I know, but you wouldn't have married him anyways Rachel and we all know it. You're the one who said you never wanted to be married again, that it was too much for such a career oriented girl like you," Sebastian pointed out, and even as she finished her drink, a fresh one appearing before her almost instantaneously, she could remember having said those things another drunken night long ago.

"That was before I found Craig," she whined, but Sebastian wasn't hearing any of it, starting to point out guys in the bar that looked like they might have been her type.

She turned each one down, a 'too tall,' 'too lanky', 'too bland' coming out as excuses before Sebastian finally gave up and helped her off her bar stool. She had drank at least four long island iced teas, and she was sure she'd regret such a thing in the morning when she had to get up to go to rehearsals once more, but for the first time in days she was laughing and smiling, Sebastian looking smug as he held onto her hip tightly to keep her from falling over as he navigated them towards the subway.

She found herself stumbling into the apartment, holding onto Sebastian as he led her into her own bedroom, pulling him with her when he tried to place her on her bed. She laughed, loudly, as he sank down next to her, his palm cool against her warm skin on the small of her back, and she found herself looking at him in a way she never allowed herself to.

She'd always known Sebastian and Blaine were attractive men, but they were her roommates, and more importantly-before she'd moved in with them, at least-she'd assumed they were both gay. It turned out Sebastian would hit on anything that moved, taking no discretion towards gender, and while Blaine only ended up dating guys, his heated gaze in her direction would occasionally set her skin on fire.

Sebastian was meeting her gaze now, his eyes eating her up just as much as she was checking him out, her tongue darting out to wet her suddenly dry lips as he leaned on one arm, effectively hovering next to her. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she whispered as his hand brushed some hair off her face before moving down her neck, brushing past the side of her breast as it moved down her body before coming to rest on her waist, holding it tightly.

"You're incredibly attractive, you know," he said quietly, his breath husky in a way that made Rachel squirm. She didn't fight him off as his lips met hers, hesitantly to make sure she was okay with it, and as her own hand wrapped itself around his neck and pulled him closer to her, easing into the kiss, the last thing she thought about was how they hadn't closed her bedroom door.


	2. Chapter 2

Sebastian had texted Blaine earlier in the evening that he was taking Rachel out, tired of seeing her lay around in a daze over the past few days. Blaine had chuckled before letting him know that he was unable to join the two, seeing as he had to go break up with his own boyfriend. He wondered, briefly as Nick threw something that looked strangely expensive towards Blaine's face, if maybe Sebastian had the right idea about relationships. "Fuck 'em and leave 'em," he would shrug in the morning when Rachel or Blaine complained about their boyfriends, but the two were far too conventional for such a loose dating moral.

Still, he didn't know why he was surprised when he walked into the dark apartment that night, Rachel's door wide open and practically calling to him to come nearer. He frowned, unsure if his roommates were still out for the evening or not, but headed down the hall to close the door for her. Instead, he walked in to find Rachel straddling Sebastian's waist, her shirt on the floor and his own on her bed as the two practically attacked each other's mouths, Blaine's stomach dropping at the sight. He could see Sebastian's hand groping at Rachel's breast, the other holding her close to him by her ass, and-not for the first time-Blaine wasn't sure who he was more jealous of in the situation.

Sebastian seemed to notice him standing there, grinning and shooting a wink in his direction before his mouth descended across Rachel's tan body, Blaine shaking his head in disgust and walking away, the image of his two friends burned inside his retinas as he hid himself away in his own bedroom.

"Have fun last night?" Blaine asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of his tone as Sebastian helped himself to a bowl of cereal, smirking as he sat down at the table with him.

"I certainly did," Sebastian replied, stirring his cheerios in the bowl in front of him. "It's too bad you couldn't join us, I'm Rachel would have loved to have you there." Blaine rolled his eyes, mashing his oatmeal harshly in his bowl as Sebastian continued to chuckle across from him. "Relax, Blaine, I didn't _fuck _her," Sebastian said after a moment, and while Blaine relaxed, it was only minimally so.

"Looked like you were heading there," he shot back, the fire of jealousy rising out of the pit of his stomach, and once again he was left wondering who exactly he was more jealous of-Rachel for getting Sebastian, or Sebastian for getting Rachel.

"Yes, well, I wasn't about to take advantage of the poor girl. I'm not saying we were completely innocent, after all the girl needed a good orgasm-when was the last time either of us heard noise coming from that room?-but we didn't have sex, so you can calm yourself." Blaine blanched slightly at Sebastian's words, knowing they were true. Living with Rachel for nearly three years had taught him one thing well-if she was enjoying sex at all, she was quite vocal about it. But the room next to his had been quiet for nearly two months now, even if Craig had started sleeping over more and more. He highly doubted it was out of respect for the two roommates, since Sebastian never offered any for them, and Blaine had been known to be on the receiving end of their glares in the morning more than once, but he tried to push thoughts about Rachel in sexual situations as far out of his mind as possible.

"I am calm," he finally said in response, getting up to rinse out his dishes. "Why would I care what the two of you do together?" he lied, and the eyebrow raised in his direction told him that Sebastian _knew _he was lying.

"Because, Blaine, you're horrible at hiding your attraction to people. Subtlety has never been your strong suit."

"And you're the master of it, right?" Blaine retorted, leaning against the sink as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Mr. 'I'll-just-stalk-you-til-you-give-in'?"

"90% of the time, it works," Sebastian shrugged.

"Only 90%?" Blaine asked with a smirk, "does the other 10% end in a restraining order?"

"No," Sebastian said easily, placing his own bowl in the sink behind Blaine. "The other 10% ends up my roommate," he winked, Blaine only scoffing as Sebastian headed out of the room, the slightly dazed feeling he sometimes felt overpowering him for a moment before he shook his head, remembering that feelings-romantic or sexual-for his roommates were strictly off limits.

* * *

><p>Blaine walked into the bathroom twenty minutes later to find Rachel on the floor, face pressed against the cool tile and a cup of water by her head. "Rough night?" he asked, stepping over her to get to the sink.<p>

"Do you ever think your brain is going to fall out of your eye socket?" she whined, her eyes closed as he rummaged for his toothbrush.

"Only when I drink far, far too much," he sang quietly. "How much _did _you have to drink?"

"After the second one, I stopped counting. Sebastian just kept putting them in front of me."

"And you kept drinking them?" Blaine asked incredulously before he started brushing his teeth, frowning a bit at the rogue curls in his reflection.

"I figured if I got drunk enough he'd stop talking about getting me someone to hook up with," she said after a moment, half sitting up before collapsing once more on the floor. "I woke up alone, so it must have worked."

He looked at her curiously, her face once more pressed onto the floor, and it hit him that she might not remember the previous night. "Rach," he started, but Sebastian interrupted him as he appeared in the doorway, grinning at Rachel on the floor.

"How you feeling, pretty girl?" he asked, his voice haughty but Blaine knew the boy well enough to know that he cared. That was what bothered Blaine the most, he decided as Sebastian moved into the room and helped Rachel off the floor, that Rachel was one of the few Sebastian legitimately cared about. He grumbled about how she was a pain in the ass, that her overdramatics annoyed him to no end, but a the end of the day he did what he could to keep her happy.

He could see the two of them starting something, leaving him behind, and the thought was enough to drive him insane.

"I think I'm dying," she responded with a groan, leaning on Sebastian as best she could. "Why would you let me drink so much?"

"So it'd be easier to get in your pants, of course," Sebastian shrugged, and Rachel merely rolled her eyes at him. Blaine fought off the urge to let Sebastian know he was pretty sure Rachel remembered nothing from the previous night, but she cut him off before he could even make the decision.

"I'd rather find out I hooked up with you than some sleazy guy at a bar," she mumbled, both Blaine and Sebastian raising their eyebrows in response in sudden silence. She looked between the two, clearly confused, a small "What?" falling from her lips as Blaine tried to see a way out of the situation.

"You don't remember what happened last night, do you?" Sebastian asked, and Blaine heard the slight disappointment in his voice that most would have missed out on.

"Oh my god," she said, her eyes opening wide as she looked up at him. "We didn't-did we?" her head moved in Blaine's direction, as if he would be able to answer-he would, of course, but that wasn't his place to. "Sebastian Andrew Smythe you tell me _right now_ what happened!" she yelled, backing away from him slightly. The panic on Seb's face both worried Blaine and made him feel a little smug, as if this was proving his point that Rachel could never want him.

Blaine's entire relationship with the two was a constant battle of one end of the spectrum versus the other, and he was afraid one day he'd end up with an ulcer.

"You're still not answering me," she said, and Sebastian, the one who never lost his cool, seemed to look at Blaine for help.

"According to Sebastian," Blaine said with a sigh, Rachel's eyes now focused on him, "you two didn't have sex, but that's about all I had to listen to over breakfast."

"Mr. 'I'm-going-to-tell-you-everything-down-to-measurements' was quiet about details?" Rachel questioned, looking at Blaine quizzically.

"Well, Blaine walked in enough to know that I at least got to second base," Sebastian grinned, his smarmy form returning, and Blaine could feel his eyelids closing as he waited for Rachel to freak out about that, "but he left before he got to see you on your cute little knees for me."

"Sebastian," Blaine warned, but it was pointless as Rachel slapped him across the face, storming into her own room and slamming the door shut quickly. "Really? You couldn't have been gentler about that?"

"Then I wouldn't have been me," Sebastian said simply, rubbing his cheek as he tried to get rid of the pain. "That actually hurt, I feel bad for St. James when he had to put up with it almost weekly."

"Yes, well, Jesse was somehow an even bigger dick than you are," Blaine smirked, walking past his roommate towards his own bedroom. "I'd find a way to apologize to her, or you'll never hear the end of it," he warned, but Sebastian waved him off before heading out the door, Blaine once more stuck between the two.

* * *

><p>She came to him that afternoon, knocking on his door a few hours later as he tried to read a book one of his co-workers had recommended to him. "Come in," he announced, figuring it was Sebastian once more trying to get him to come out for the evening, and was surprised to see Rachel's form enter the room quietly, shutting the door behind her. "What's up?"<p>

"I'm hiding from Sebastian," she admitted, moving over to Blaine's bed and climbing over him without warning to sit on his side, making herself comfortable. She had always been like that, clinging more to Blaine than she did Sebastian. He never questioned it, assumed it was because they'd known each other longer, they'd been around one another more. Even after his break up with Kurt, back in their freshman year of college and his senior year of high school, she stuck by him. He had a vague notion that this was a contributing factor to the end of their friendship two years later, but she had come to him when that escalated too, and he'd never tell her know.

"Why are you hiding from him?" he asked her now, resting his hand on her leg without thinking, the heat from her body radiating onto his own. "Because of last night?"

"It's completely mortifying," she groaned, burying her head in his arm. "I made out with my roommate."

"I think you might have done more than that," Blaine smirked, ignoring her glare as he put his book down next to him with a sigh. "But it's Sebastian, it's not like this has to be awkward for you two. He'll carry on as if it means nothing, and you can chalk it up to alcohol and bad judgment."

"Maybe Sebastian has a point," she said quietly after a moment, her fingers lightly tracing designs over his abdomen, making his skin jump under her touch. He tried to focus on her words and not her touch, but she was making it nearly impossible.

"That'd be a first," Blaine chuckled, Rachel smiling next to him. "Are you sure you're not still drunk?"

She laughed, pushing him slightly, but she shook her head. "Don't you want to know _what _Sebastian might be right about?" she asked, and Blaine tried not to notice the slightly change in her tone, how it was more cautious and light, almost flirty in a way if he let himself think about it.

"Not usually," Blaine lied, looking next to him to see Rachel's eyes sparkling with something he couldn't quite place, his stomach dropping again as he watched her wet her lips, watching his every movement.

"He says I need to be more spontaneous, and fun," she continued on, ignoring his request to not know. "He said I should stop going into relationships, because they're not good for me."

"That's not true," Blaine said, trying to breathe normally as her hand trailed up his chest, resting on his shoulder and assuring that his attention wouldn't be divided from her. Not that it could, his attention almost always on her when she was around. "You had a bad break up, that doesn't mean you should _never _date again."

"Maybe I don't want to date right now," Rachel said, eyes burning holes through his skin. "Maybe I just want to have fun, with someone I trust."

"Well, then I don't suggest Sebastian," he said, forcing out a wheezed chuckle, but she just shook her head.

"Not the one I was thinking about," she whispered, and Blaine stayed completely still as she moved herself closer, closing whatever distance had been between them.

It was hesitant, at first, her lips barely placed on his own, but as soon as she initiated the contact he seemed to need more, his own hand moving to reach into her hair and pull her closer, using her small gasp as an opportunity to deepen the kiss, her legs making quick work of moving around him, landing in his lap as her own hands used his shoulders as support.

He pulled away, reluctantly, her lips unable to stop kissing him as they trailed down his chin to his neck, and it was a strained voice he used to whisper "Rachel, we can't-"

"Yes, we can," she said simply. "And we both want to," she promised, Blaine unable to do much more than go along with whatever it was she wanted after that.


	3. Chapter 3

Sebastian moved swiftly though the apartment a few mornings later, careful not to wake up Rachel for risk of another slap. She'd avoided him the rest of the weekend, for which he couldn't entirely blame her, locking herself in Blaine's room and therefore isolating Sebastian all on his own.

It was infuriating, how even after two years, it was still Blaine she always went running to.

He'd accepted it long ago, after her final break up with St. James, how she'd spent weeks crying into Blaine's arms about where things went wrong while Sebastian was silently the one making sure their house didn't fall apart. He didn't complain about it, accepted the strange pull the two had over the other, even if it annoyed him to no end.

He could see why they never did anything about their feelings for the other, what with Blaine _insisting _he was gay over and over, and Rachel not wanting to push him out of his comfort zone. But hell, if Blaine wasn't going to make a move, Sebastian was tired of waiting for what he wanted.

And he wanted her.

He wanted both of them, really, but they were both too uptight for Sebastian's advances to ever play out as anything more than jokes. He would resent the fact if it didn't mean he could potentially ruin everything by letting them know he wasn't kidding, and as badly as he so very much wanted in Rachel's short little skirts and Blaine's always perfectly ironed trousers he wasn't willing to risk their friendship for it.

They mocked him for never having feelings or emotions towards anything, and yet he knew he cared too deeply for the both of them to really risk it.

* * *

><p>It took him nearly two weeks to figure out what was going on, and it was of course Blaine who let it slip. It was unintentional, as always, but Blaine's poker face was laughable at best. Sebastian watched as Blaine's eyes hovered on Rachel's body, even more than normal, her face flushing pink when she turned around and noticed as she continued telling them about the understudy who was after her part.<p>

It was a momentary thing, a split second, but Blaine's smile in her direction read loud and clear. Blaine was getting what Sebastian had been slapped for, and he nearly stormed out of the room in anger.

He wasn't sure how long it had been going on, if it had been before her break up or after her hook up with himself, but Sebastian knew he didn't like it. He couldn't very well corner Rachel about it, she'd only get huffy and upset and tell him it was none of his damn business who she was sleeping with-which, had it not been _Blaine _he might have agreed with.

But it was his fellow ex-Warbler sneaking into her room late at night, as Sebastian found out later on as he lay awake in bed listening for the sound of them. It was Rachel's giggle from the other side of her door and Blaine's returning voice muffled through the wood. Sebastian had half a brain to walk in on them, catching them as Blaine had walked in on him when it was his turn with Rachel, but he knew that would only serve to backfire as well.

He had to be smart about it, or he'd be effectively pushed away by both, the image of Blaine slamming the door in his face while Rachel clutched onto his side all too powerful in his mind as he stormed back to his own room to sleep on his own.

* * *

><p>Blaine was the weak one of the two, the one Sebastian could rightfully confront without it ending badly. He'd either lie and shrug off Sebastian's accusation, or he'd admit the truth and tell Sebastian it was none of his business. It was the same thing that happened whenever he started sleeping with someone new, a cycle Sebastian had been through several times now.<p>

"You're sleeping with Rachel," he said calmly as Blaine brushed his teeth one Saturday morning, the action halted as Blaine turned to look at him with a startled expression.

"What?" he asked, mouth full of toothpaste as he moved to spit it out, Sebastian smirking as he leaned against the doorframe.

"I said, you're sleeping with Rachel."

"What of it?" Blaine asked, his voice a little aggressive and surprising Sebastian. His face was as composed as ever, never wanting to admit when he was taken off guard, but as Blaine turned to face him, arms crossed over his chest, Sebastian realized there may have been something he was missing-that maybe their late night rendezvous were less sexually oriented and more romantically so.

"Well, you know it's been my desire to bed the star since day one," Sebastian smirked, Blaine's face tightening at his words. "So maybe I just wanted to hear how she is. I mean, I already know how good she is at sucking dick from first hand-" Sebastian didn't even see Blaine's fist coming, just knew that one moment he was talking and the next his stomach was in an unbelievable amount of pain. "Fuck, jackass," he spat, holding himself together.

"You know why Rachel chose me over you?" Blaine hissed, his fist tangled in the front of Sebastian's polo, "it's because I'm not a complete douche who feels the need to get his dick in anything that moves."

"Oh really?" Sebastian smirked, grabbing onto Blaine's cardigan-and really, sometimes even Sebastian had to wonder why Blaine still insisted on dressing like a 90 year old man-and pushing him against the door behind them. "How would your precious little Rachel feel if she walked in and saw this?" he asked, kissing Blaine harshly, his teeth biting onto the other boys lips. Blaine gasped, but he didn't push Sebastian away, his lips melding into Sebastian's.

He wondered, vaguely, how far he could push things, if he could manage to talk Blaine into getting each other off, if they even had enough time before Rachel came home-if Rachel would even care. There was obviously a reason the two were keeping quiet about it, and he didn't think it was because of his presence in their lives. He pushed himself further into Blaine's personal space, Blaine giving in as his hands came to rest on either side of his face, pulling him in for more.

Sebastian could only do the first thing he thought of, pushing the door behind him closed and pushing Blaine as far as he'd allow.

* * *

><p>Blaine refused to look at either of them for two days, and Sebastian was completely unsurprised when Rachel finally came up to him, hands on her hips, and demanded his attention.<p>

"Can you move, like, three feet to the left? I'm trying to watch the game," he complained, pretending to be mildly annoyed. He rarely minded Rachel's presence, enjoyed it more than he'd ever let on. The girl had a mind of her own, was more determined than any other person he'd ever met, and had more talent put inside her tiny 5'3" body than most people sitting at home with Oscar's on a shelf did.

"Why is Blaine ignoring me?" she demanded, not moving an inch. He sighed heavily, trying to appear as if he wasn't paying attention, but his eyes were constantly drawn to her girlish figure anyways. He'd never been one for labels-in high school he identified as gay, sure, because he went to an all-boys school and it was easier to get ass that way. But at 23, he was able to see that he didn't care if it was a boy or a girl underneath him, as long as he was getting off.

"How the hell would I know?" Sebastian remarked, moving his head as if to see around her. She quickly moved in that direction, forcing Sebastian to let out another sigh in aggravation before he caved and shut off the TV.

"You know. You always know, so tell me why Blaine hasn't so much as looked at me in two days." He raised an eyebrow, wondering if she could possibly know that he knew about her trysts with Blaine, but she held her own against him, always able to block him off in ways that meant he couldn't see through her.

"Probably because I sucked him off in the bathroom the other day, and then fucked him in the shower," Sebastian said calmly, leaning towards her. Her eyes opened wide, her face falling half an inch, and her eyes became more guarded.

"No you didn't," she retorted, and he just laughed at her-she knew he wasn't lying, knew that even if he came across as a pompous asshole more often than not, he wasn't a liar. "Tell me you're lying to me, Sebastian," she growled, and he just shrugged.

"Believe what you want to believe," he said, and it only seemed to infuriate her more.

"Why would you-why would he-why?" she yelled, her voice loud in their tiny apartment. "Tell me why!"

"Because Blaine's hot, and I wanted to see how his dick felt in my mouth," Sebastian retorted. "Surely you know what that feels like, don't you?"

She didn't say anything to that, merely glared at him more than the time he accidentally threw out an entire script she needed for an audition, and stormed out of the room, slamming her door hard.

He was going to have to proposition a rule about getting rid of those doors.

* * *

><p>"You know how if one of us wants to instate a rule, we have to run it by the other two?" he said into the awkwardly quiet kitchen the next morning. Rachel and Blaine sat uncomfortably far away from one another, Rachel looking indignant and upset while Blaine just looked pathetic and sad, Sebastian wanting to roll his eyes at both of them.<p>

"Is your rule no sleeping with your roommates?" Rachel asked, her voice so full of fake optimism that even Sebastian had to laugh.

"Of course not, don't be ridiculous. I do, however, have a rule that I think will benefit all of us," he said casually, knowing they'd probably just ignore him as he continued. Sure enough, Blaine simply rolled his eyes and cleared his place, not even bothering to listen to Sebastian as he talked. "I think we should get rid of all the doors in the apartment. Except, of course, the front one."

"Get rid of the doors?" Rachel questioned, Blaine scoffing from the coffee maker as he poured himself another cup.

"See, then you can't slam them when I tell you something you don't like," Sebastian said simply, ignoring Rachel as she rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you should just stop saying things I don't like," she replied, a smug grin on her face.

"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" Sebastian winked, sending Rachel into a huff again as she left the room. "You know," he said, wincing as he heard her door slam once more, "you'd think if the girl was getting laid so often she'd mellow out."

"Yes, well, she isn't too pleased with me right now," Blaine muttered, staring blankly into his coffee.

"Oh, and why is that?" he asked, using the fakest tone he could muster for his only semi-realistic sincerity. Blaine's eyes only met his in a sharp glare, clearly his way of telling Sebastian to shut up about it. "Did she find out about our little bathroom-"

"Shut up," Blaine growled, Sebastian winking in his direction.

"I do love it when you get angry," Sebastian replied lazily. "And you know, there'd be a very simple solution to all this, if you'd allow it."

"Oh really, and what is that?"

"Well, you could either stop thinking with _your _dick and fucking both your roommates-something I disagree with, by the way, because it works out in all our favors when you do-or, we could have a threesome." Blaine's eyes practically bugged out of his head, his head spinning in the direction of Rachel's door, but it remained shut.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Blaine accused, Sebastian merely shrugging in lieu of a response. "Actually, you know what, I don't have any plans today. Go suggest that to Rachel, I'd love to see you get slapped again."

"And if she says yes?"

"She won't," Blaine said, shaking his head.

"Wanna make a bet? Winner gets her once and for all?" Sebastian prompted, Blaine raising an eyebrow.

"But you don't have her," he argued. "Why would I risk that?"

"I bet I can get inside those pink sheets by the end of the week, and by the end of the month we'll have had at least one threesome. If I lose, I'll never lay another hand on her again, never make an inappropriate suggestion towards her, and clean the bathroom for a month." Sebastian could see Blaine waning, the good part of him that wanted to look out for Rachel's best interest warring with the dark part of him that wanted both of his roommates. "Come on, Blaine. You know I can do it. If I win, we all win."

"Fine," Blaine scoffed, holding out his hand for Sebastian to shake. "You're on."


	4. Chapter 4

Rachel knew what she was getting into the moment the words "This doesn't mean anything, you know," left her mouth, leaving Blaine with no option but to nod in agreement. It was better, she knew, if they didn't let it go beyond sex, leaving emotions completely behind. Still, hearing that he and Sebastian had touched-well, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't slightly intrigued, but overall she was hurt. She tried to reason with herself into thinking it was just because it was _Sebastian _of all people, their roommate and friend. If he had gone off and fucked anyone else, Rachel told herself, she'd be fine. It was what they had agreed upon, after all.

He tried talking to her the night Sebastian told her, but she merely stormed out of the apartment, Blaine only following as far as the top of the stairs before giving up, leaving Rachel to hyperventilate on the bottom floor of their apartment building on her own, surely scaring away the guys that lived on the floor above them as they passed her. She knew then that this lay deeper than a sexual attraction to him, and that if he was going to go off with other people she was just going to have to gain self-control and put an end to it.

She didn't expect him to storm into her room after two days of relative silence between the two, pulling her tight against him and crashing his lips against her own. She allowed it for a moment, never able to get enough of the taste of his mouth, almost giving in completely and wrapping her arms around him to bring him closer when she snapped to reality and pushed him away. "No!" she finally yelled, making sure she was clear, her face guarded in his direction.

"Rachel, this is stupid! Why are you even mad at me?" he shouted back, and she had to steel herself against him quickly before her defenses fell.

"You know why," she hissed, turning her face from him.

"Because Sebastian told you that I slept with him?" Blaine clarified, and she nodded, the very thought bringing tears to her eyes once more. She quickly blinked them away, trying to ignore the dull pain from her heart at the image. "You're the one who said this was casual, Rach. You're the one who said there was no point for us to become anything more than friends who slept together, especially not if we'd both just gotten out of relationships. _You _made those rules for us, not me." His voice was calm, if not aggravated, but it still gave her the ground to make her next statement.

"You're right, I made the rules and I started this which means I can end it, too," she finally said, trying to keep her voice strong.

"End?" Blaine questioned incredulously. "Like, _end_ end?"

"Yes," she said, nodding her head in affirmation. "It's only been like, two weeks, Blaine, and things are already going wrong. Clearly a friends-with-benefits relationship of sorts isn't made for us, and in order to protect our friendship I'd rather take a step back and stop sleeping together."

"That's your logic?" Blaine questioned, sounding almost mystified. "Rach, I'm pretty sure on some level, our friendship is already destroyed."

"That's comforting, thanks," she muttered, tightening the hold she had on herself and staring at the floor, refusing to look up at him even as he let out a sigh and came nearer to her.

"What I'm saying, Rach, is that this doesn't have to end just because of one incident," Blaine told her quietly, and she could feel herself waning, wanting nothing more than to give in to him. "We could lay down a new set of rules, ones we _both _agree upon. Unless this is about more than just Sebastian, in which case-we should probably talk about it anyways."

"It was just Sebastian," she lied, still not meeting his gaze, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "I just-"

"It's Sebastian, I know," Blaine said, his voice sounding a little happier, enough so that Rachel glanced up at him. "We can say that Sebastian is off-limits, to both of us."

"And we'd still just be casual?" she asked, unsure of what she wanted his response to be.

"If that's what you need, of course," Blaine agreed, and she nodded her head, trying to fight off the notion that she wanted more, wanted all of him, because she knew she was in no place to commit to anyone anyways.

"No Sebastian," she reiterated, her eyes locked onto his, making sure he understood her words.

"From either of us," he replied, and when she nodded, a smile broke onto his face that nearly swept her entire notion of there being nothing more than a sexual thing between them under the rug, her arms winding around his neck as she hugged him tightly.

* * *

><p>Rachel kept true to her promise to Blaine, that Sebastian would be off-limits to them both. But for some reason, and she wasn't 100% sure what it was yet, Sebastian seemed to have taken an avid interest in her life. It wasn't that he wasn't always interested, only that he seemed intent on finding everything out now, and she was vaguely concerned about what his motives might have been.<p>

"You know," he said the evening after Rachel and Blaine had made up, his fingers teasing the ends of her curls as he sat next to her on the couch. She tried to ignore how close he was to her, but every time she made a movement away from him he'd move closer to her once again, leaving them in an almost endless game of cat and mouse. "We never did get to finish what we started that night we went drinking."

"I'm not sleeping with you," she replied dryly, her worst suspicions rearing their ugly head. Sebastian was tempting, something even a few weeks ago she'd have said yes to he if caught her in the right moment, but she wasn't about to break her promise to Blaine.

"Why not?" Sebastian pouted, his hand moving from her hair to her leg, squeezing her thigh gently as she tried to move it away, cursing herself for wearing a pair of short shorts around the apartment. The truth was, she just hadn't wanted to get dressed that morning, and after Blaine ran to work, she'd only done so begrudgingly.

"Because," she answered shortly, "I don't think it's a good idea to sleep with your roommate."

"But you're sleeping with Blaine," he retorted, and the smirk on her face when she turned to face him told her he'd known all along.

"I wouldn't-"

"You would," Sebastian said with a small shrug. "And you have been, since that night that we hooked up. Blaine's already spilled on it."

"He did?" she asked, conflicted between being proud of herself and hurt that he'd break the deal they made not to tell anyone.

"Of course he did," Sebastian murmured, and she had to put all of her strength into pushing him away as he leaned forward to kiss her neck. "He had to hold it over my head, you know, that he got to you first."

"That doesn't sound like Blaine," Rachel argued, but Sebastian just rolled her eyes at her.

"Rachel, for such a smart woman, you can be truly naïve. Guys will always brag about their conquests," he explained, trademark grin back in place, lecherous as always. "Especially when they know someone else wants who they have."

"You don't _want _me, Sebastian," Rachel tried to say, but Sebastian was back to moving his thumb gently over the skin on the inside of her thigh, undoubtedly trying to get an effect out of her. She hated to admit that it was working, that if she had no self-control left in her body she'd be pulling him on top of her right this second, but she managed to snap her legs shut and push his hand away. "Stop."

"You don't want me to stop though," Sebastian chuckled darkly. "Your pupils are dilated and your skin is getting a lovely flush to it," he continued, his hand immediately resting once more on her leg, dangerously high up as his thumb returned to its ministrations, pressing in slightly against her thigh. "And your hips, as much as you're trying to control them, are moving ever so slightly."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she stated once more, keeping her voice calm and her eyes on the TV in front of them, ignoring whatever it was she had put on only a few minutes ago.

"I think," Sebastian said, moving his mouth to her ear and whispering quietly, "that you do."

She barely had time to blink before the front door was opening, a small "Thank god," falling from her mouth as she threw the remote in Sebastian's direction before racing to the front door, pulling Blaine with her towards his bedroom without a second thought.

* * *

><p>"Does Blaine know the reason for your sudden urge to fuck his brains out yesterday?" Sebastian asked as Rachel sat on their kitchen counter, her legs stopping their movement against the cabinets below her.<p>

"Do you have to be so crass at 8 in the morning?" she asked, scowling at him.

"I just want to know if he realizes he didn't even have to do any work to get you going," Sebastian said with a straight face as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "Nothing more to it than that."

"What is with your sudden interest in my sex life anyways," she continued, ignoring his words. "You never cared when I was with Craig, or Jesse before him. Is it only because it's Blaine?"

"I figure if I have to _hear _you two going at it, I should at least be privy to details. Besides, it's not like I don't know what both of you look like naked," he winked, earning himself a punch in the arm as he passed by her. He faked a wounded look as he grabbed a bagel and threw it in the toaster, getting one out for her as well.

"Could you be a bigger asshole if you tried, Seb?" Blaine asked as he walked into the room and rubbing his eye, smiling in Rachel's direction. She ignored the flutter in her stomach as she returned his grin, Sebastian snorting from his position next to her.

"I don't know, why don't we see if I can? How many times can I make pretty girl here slap me before I go to work?" he asked, cocking his head in Rachel's direction as she snapped her own in his direction. She'd never get over the 'pretty girl' nickname, the one he had assigned to her one evening back when they first moved in together and spent the night on the roof, watching the city pass them by. It was the first time she saw him as more than the cocky, arrogant asshole he portrayed 90% of the time, and every time the name was said in her direction she still blushed a little, bowing her head and ignoring Blaine's scowl in Sebastian's direction.

"I'm sure if you keep talking you can get to at least three," Blaine muttered, taking a sip from Rachel's coffee while he reached for his own mug to make more.

"Is that a challenge?" Sebastian questioned, raising an eyebrow in Blaine's direction, but Blaine just shook his head 'no', muttering about Sebastian's fucked up goals. "I think you like my goals, Anderson, if I remember correctly."

Rachel sat quietly between the two, her eyes narrowing slightly at the red coloring Blaine's cheeks as Sebastian looked even more smarmy than before, something not quite adding up in her brain. "What are you talking about?" she asked, turning first to Sebastian who just nodded towards Blaine. "Blaine, what's going on?"

"How should I know?" Blaine replied, but he didn't quite meet her eyes, looking a little nervous under her gaze. She pursed her lips, knowing there was something more there, but decided to let it go.

"Right," she said, sliding off the counter. "Well, some of us have to go become Broadway stars, so if you two will excuse me," she excused herself, walking out of the room and closing her door without entering her room, hoping to hear whatever it was she was missing, but it was almost as if Blaine-or, more than likely Sebastian-knew she was still trying to listen, and it was only with a heavy sigh that she gave up.

* * *

><p>"You're sure you don't know what Sebastian was talking about earlier?" Rachel asked Blaine later that evening, his groan of displeasure audible against her neck as her fingers made quick work of undoing his belt.<p>

"Really, you want to talk about that _now_?" he asked, his eyes searching for her own in the darkness of her bedroom. She simply nodded, examining his face carefully. Normally he was open with her, unguarded and carefree, his eyes earnest and honest whenever he looked into hers. But he seemed cautious, nervous, like he was hiding something, and Rachel didn't like it one bit.

"I just think it was a weird thing to say, is all," she shrugged, fighting off the shiver that crawled over her skin as his hands moved up her sides in an attempt to distract her-an attempt that would work quite well, had she not been able to see how reserved he was being.

"Everything he says is weird, Rach," Blaine murmured, breath hot on her skin as he pulled on her ear with his teeth. "Can we please talk about this at literally any other moment? Or drop it completely?" he begged, his hips grinding into hers, an almost desperate whine escaping her own lips as he did so.

"I suppose," she agreed, and he seemed to take it as a personal victory as he shut her up once and for all with his mouth on hers, Rachel shutting her brain down so she could enjoy the moment, trying not to overthink something that she could only hope meant nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

"Does your girlfriend know you're here?" Sebastian hissed, Blaine's eyes flashing dark as he pushed Sebastian against the wall, biting down hard enough on his collarbone to leave a mark.

"She's not my girlfriend," Blaine growled as his hips moved forward into Sebastian's hand between them. Sebastian palmed the front of Blaine's jeans, Blaine already feeling the familiar tightening low in his gut as the other let out a throaty chuckle, clearly not being thrown off by Blaine's attempts at being harsh.

"You're not fooling anyone, you know," Sebastian continued, and it drove Blaine crazy that he could be so nonchalant as Blaine shoved his hand roughly inside of Sebastian's pants, not bothering with decency or waiting as he grasped him firmly within his hand. Sebastian let out some sort of strangled groan as Blaine moved his hand quickly up and down, occasionally allowing his thumb to swipe over the tip of him before Sebastian continued talking. "You two can pretend this is all just sex for you guys, but you're clearly just as in love with her as she is with you."

"Fuck off," Blaine snapped, releasing his grip on Sebastian before he yanked down the boys pants, dropping to his knees in the process. "If I loved her, would I be here sucking you off?" he questioned, his eyes glaring up at Sebastian's returning laugh.

"You can't fool me," Sebastian sang, letting out a heavy breath as Blaine made no hesitation to suck as much of him inside his mouth as he could. "You're just fooling yourselves," he continued, Blaine more determined than ever to shut Sebastian up, hollowing his cheeks as best he could around Sebastian's cock, his mouth making the same path his hand had only moments before.

It didn't take too long for Sebastian's hands to grip Blaine's hair, pulling him farther down until he was practically gagging before he shot into his mouth with a groan, the front door of the apartment opening and closing a couple minutes later as Blaine wiped his mouth clear, signaling Rachel's arrival home and sending Blaine into yet another twirl of guilt as Sebastian smirked and left the room, leaving Blaine to take care of himself in a whirlwind of guilt and arousal.

* * *

><p>They had rules that they allowed themselves, all thought up by Rachel of course. There was the Sebastian being off limits one, the one Blaine broke most often. It wasn't intentional, at first, it never was. But the more he tried to hide away from Sebastian, the more determined Sebastian was to get Blaine to unfold underneath him, and Blaine was too conflicted with his own feelings to stop it for too long.<p>

The second was that they were supposed to be kept a secret. It was a pointless rule, of course, since both knew Sebastian knew of their tryst. They weren't close enough to worry about keeping it from anyone else, but he respected her wishes on that aspect, kept to their 'casual' excuse she was clinging to desperately even as she fell asleep in his bed even more than she had before.

The third was probably the most random one, the one he couldn't really understand, the one that stated their relationship was not to be pushed forward out in the real world. He wasn't to show up at her work and surprise her, she wasn't to do the same to him. "We're not a couple," she said firmly, even as his tongue had been teasing the skin on her hip, "so there's no need to pretend we are." He'd agreed with her if only to keep her quiet and pull her closer to him, willing to do whatever it was she wanted so long as she didn't stop touching him.

But he was there, now, wondering why he shouldn't go in and pull her into a side room and break their third rule as carelessly as he was breaking the first. He knew she was keeping true to it, Sebastian would have gloated had he won so easily, but her resistance towards Sebastian was only so strong, even Blaine could see that.

He supposed that was his excuse for propelling forward, locating the private room she was using to run over dance routines by herself with relative ease. "Blaine!" she announced in shock, her leg falling to the floor from where it had been rested against the ballet bar against the mirrored wall as he leaned against the door jamb, his smirk visible in her direction. "What are you doing here?"

He shrugged in response, pulling the door shut behind him before walking closer to her. "I was in the neighborhood," he answered, pulling her by her waist towards him and feeling the familiar coil in the pit of his stomach as she melted easily enough into his arms.

"We have rules," she whispered, but she was already intrigued, her eyes darting towards the closed door as she licked her lips.

"Fuck 'em," Blaine responded. "Rules are meant to be broken anyways." She didn't argue him as he pushed her against the wall, his hands grabbing her waist tightly and attacking her mouth with his own without another word. She let him lead them, taking a passive stance in their movements that only seemed to push him for more, his hands pushing her sweats down and letting them pool around her feet as she did the same to his own jeans.

It was only moments before he made sure she was ready enough for him, pushing into her and closing his eyes at the hitch in her breath as he did so. He'd never be able to become used to it, how she fit so tightly around him, her entire body seemingly made for his own. He took out his frustration and guilt by slamming into her, much more forcefully than they were used to, but she only seemed to meet him move for move, her mouth setting a trail of fire across his chest and into the pit of his stomach as she pulled at skin with her lips and teeth, settling on his pulse point and urging him for more.

He could listen to the sounds she made forever, the quiet moans and how his name sounded coming from her lips as they parted softly, her eyes fluttering open to stare at him, glazed and pupils blown as he brushed the bangs out of her eyes to place a kiss on her lips once more. He could understand where Sebastian was coming from, at times like this, about them not fooling anyone. That only seemed to make the guilt worse, and was he pushed inside her harshly once more he felt her tighten around him, her whimpers quiet as she could possibly get as she shuddered in his arms, contracting tightly enough to lull him over the edge inside her.

He let the guilt wash over him as they collected themselves, Rachel looking up at him in confusion as it surely passed through his facial features. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly, but he did what he did best-pasted on a fake smile and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

"Fine," he reassured her before he made his goodbyes, heading out to the nearest bar he could find to wash away his shame and guilt in alcohol.

* * *

><p>He lay in bed alone that night, head in his hands as he stared up at the ceiling above him. He'd walked straight past Sebastian's room, hearing sounds he quite frankly didn't want to overhear anymore, pausing outside of Rachel's momentarily before moving on.<p>

He could only take refuge in the fact that it wasn't Rachel's voice calling out Sebastian's name, that he hadn't managed to win the bet yet. But that only set to remind Blaine of the bet, of the promise he had made Rachel, of how badly he was fucking them both over. He thought about how maybe it'd serve him right to have the two of them fall in love and run away from him, leaving him behind to wallow in misery and self-deprecation.

Because he was so wrong in every aspect, ever since having started whatever it was he and Rachel were doing. She wanted casual, and he wanted more than that-always had, if he was honest with himself. But he wasn't going to turn away the chance to be with her even a little bit, not when she was so willingly there and offering herself to him.

Blaine tried to reason that maybe that's why he'd taken to sleeping with Sebastian, his own personal self-sabotage and reasoning against why Rachel wouldn't be with him completely. As long as he did the one thing she asked him not to, she'd never trust him completely and he wouldn't have to wonder exactly why she was so hesitant about them in the first place.

The truth lay deeper than that, he knew. It lay with the fact that regardless and separate of his feelings for Rachel, he had feelings of a similar ilk towards Sebastian. They might not have been as strong, their connection not nearly as strong as the one between him and Rachel in the first place, but they were there at the end of the day, leading Blaine into stupid and potentially dangerous situations. If-and when, because it was truly an eventuality-Rachel found out about what the two boys were keeping from her, she was sure to get more mad than either had ever seen of her yet.

His phone flashed next to him, lighting the room and burning his eyes as he picked it up to read an incoming text from a coworker, a small blonde who had been showing a fair amount of attention in his direction over the past few weeks. He wasn't too shocked to see an invitation out to dinner the following evening, and he wondered if maybe that was the easiest solution, to date someone outside of the house.

It certainly made sense in his head, to find solace in someone else who wasn't Rachel or Sebastian and wipe the slate clean of both of them. He wasn't sure he could entirely do so, he'd been fighting his affections towards Rachel for what felt like years and to bury them once more would be one of the most difficult things in his entire life, and if she ran to Sebastian like he was sure she would, it'd only kill him inside even more.

His screen flashed again, and it was with a heavy sigh that he made his decision. It could backfire, go horribly wrong, but if it fixed how bad things were sure to get if he didn't try something for the three of them-he was doing this for them, really, more than himself. He was once more putting his happiness on the line for someone else, something Rachel and Sebastian had both urged him to stop doing over the years. "What do they know," he grumbled into the darkness, tapping out one three simple words and hitting send before turning over to get some sleep before the next morning, _I'd love to_ still burning his retinas.


	6. Chapter 6

"Where are you going?" Sebastian questioned as Blaine adjusted his bowtie, pacing through the kitchen on the hunt for his wallet.

"Out," came Blaine's simple response, and Sebastian narrowed his eyes, instinctively glancing in the direction of Rachel's room.

"I thought you two were 'casual'," he accused, because taking her out-that was against the rules. Granted, Sebastian was on the last day of the first part of the bet, but he had a good five hours before it hit midnight, and he was nothing if not determined.

"Not with Rachel," Blaine admitted, grabbing the wallet he'd been searching for off the top of the fridge, Sebastian making sure to keep the look of pure elation off his face.

"On a date? With someone not living in this house?' he joked, Blaine only scowling in response. "You know, for someone that seemed determined to keep Rachel all to himself, you're doing a horrible job at showcasing that."

"Rachel's a big girl," Blaine replied dryly. "She's the one who said we were free to see other people. She won't care."

"We both know that's a lie," Sebastian chuckled, placing his feet up on the kitchen chair next to him. "But please, go, this can only work in my favor. I'm assuming the bet is still on, after all? Not that it'll stop me from trying to get into that cute little skirt she left the house in this morning, but I like to know what I stand to win."

"You're a dick, you know that right?" Blaine questioned, raising an eyebrow, and Sebastian was about to retort when Rachel walked in the doorway, a smile on her face as she headed into the kitchen and dumped their mail on the table.

"What's going on?" she asked, her smile slipping slightly at Blaine's attire and the tension in the air.

"Blaine has a date," Sebastian smirked, leaning across the table towards Rachel. "Just you and me tonight, pretty girl."

"Oh," she said, and Sebastian caught the startled expression she hid quickly, her eyes flickering to Blaine momentarily before she grabbed a water from the fridge and left the room, Sebastian's smirk growing in size as she slammed the door shut just a little too hard.

"I suggest you have fun on your date tonight, Blaine," Sebastian grinned as Blaine stared forlornly in the direction of Rachel's door. "Because it doesn't look to me like Rachel is going to be too willing to put out for you any time soon."

"Fuck off," Blaine replied, voice barely a growl before he too stormed out of the apartment, the front door slamming shut harder than even Rachel managed to do half the time, leaving Sebastian to shake his head and wonder, once more, why they even had doors in the first place.

* * *

><p>He pulled a reluctant Rachel from her room with the promise of <em>Funny Girl <em>and dinner, simultaneously pleased and upset to see that she was distraught over Blaine's date. He kept quiet about it, knowing that he couldn't use it as ammunition straight away or she'd only stomp off once more, the door slamming loudly in his face yet again. Instead, he distracted her by asking about how her rehearsals for the musical she was in was going, listening as she talked about how they were starting to receive word that it was going to make its move from an off-Broadway stage to an actual Broadway stage.

He'd never admit how much he actually enjoyed listening to her ramble, how her entire body lit up at the slightest mention of her blossoming career, how proud he was of her. It was an incredibly tough field to break into-so hard that no one else from their teenage years had even bothered trying-and here she was, not only trying but succeeding. She was taking the world by storm as only Rachel Berry could, and Sebastian was one of the few who got the honor of seeing it unfold in front of him.

"Thanks for distracting me," she said quietly as the movie came to a close, her arm wrapped around his own as she snuggled in tight. Sebastian let his hand rest on her thigh, her skin warm underneath her jeans.

"I thought you two agreed there were no-strings-attached?" Sebastian questioned, his thumb rubbing gentle circles into her leg, knowing that his time to move in was arriving now, and knowing that he had to move slow with her-if he pushed too fast, it'd be all for naught.

"I don't like sharing, I guess," Rachel replied with a small shrug. "Blaine and I are in no position to date, that's for certain-but knowing someone else is getting a piece of him." She let out a low sigh, her eyes directed away from him as she gazed at a collage of photos, most of them the three of them in various places around the city. He lifted his fingers up to gently caress her neck, feeling her tense underneath his touch but she didn't push him off as he brushed her long hair away.

"You shouldn't have to share him," Sebastian agreed with a quiet murmur, placing his lips against her shoulder carefully. She turned to look at him, eyes wide as he looked up at her innocently, and a small part of him flinched inwardly that he was seducing her for a game, for a bet. If she went through with it, if she gave into him, the memory would always be slightly tainted by the fact that she was doing it to get back at Blaine, that he was doing it as a means to an end. He quickly quieted that part of him as best he could as she turned away from him again, pulling her legs up on the couch and wrapping arms around them.

"Please, stop," she said quietly, and while he backed his face away from her, his fingers continued to dance down her side, feeling her squirm slightly underneath.

"Why?" he asked, turning her face towards him, and moving in for a kiss, making sure it was soft and tender. Her lips moved against his, momentarily, before she pushed him away once more, her senses coming to as she stood up and backed away.

"Because, Sebastian-you're off limits, and I can't, and just because Blaine's off on a date-"

"He's not going to come home and crawl into bed with you," Sebastian stated matter-of-factly. She sputtered out something that sounded like 'that doesn't matter', but Sebastian was merely grinning once more as he stood and closed the gap between them once more, letting his hands rest on her waist. "Besides, off-limits or not, I've had Blaine pretty much whenever I wanted him for the past week."

"You've what?" she asked, a flash of hurt running over her face, and he brought her lips to his once more in order to shield himself from the betrayal she was so upset over. "No!" she cried, pushing him away once more, and Sebastian could feel the twinge of rejection and annoyance take over as she shoved him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Why not, Rachel?" Sebastian huffed, crossing his own arms over his chest. "Holding out for Blaine? He doesn't _want _you anymore, pretty girl. Not like I do."

"You don't want me," she scoffed, though she seemed to soften slightly at his words. "You want to get off, and I'm the closest available body for you."

"You know that's not true," he frowned, reaching out to brush hair behind her ear, her eyes watching his every moment. "I want _you_, Rachel Berry, because you're you. If I just wanted to get off, I could do it myself or find someone at a bar down the street. But I wouldn't find someone who makes those pretty noises you make, or whose hair is as silky, skin as soft," he continued, his finger tracing over her lips, her hair, her arm.

"Stop," she pleaded, but her voice wasn't as strong, her eyes not as fierce as he moved once more towards her, Sebastian fighting off the victorious smile as she took a small step in his direction.

"Blaine's not thinking about you, pretty girl. But I am." She nodded, letting out a small sigh before looking up at him-the fire in her eyes nearly caught him off guard, but not half as much as how forcefully she pressed her lips against him as her arms wrapped around his neck to pull him in tighter.

Sebastian made no hesitation as he picked her up and carried her away into his room, the bet the furthest thing from his mind as he took his time to explore his roommates body.

* * *

><p>He was quiet the next morning as he left Rachel's room, Blaine catching him as he exited the bathroom with a raised eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared in Sebastian's direction. "Take it you accomplished part one," Blaine whispered, Sebastian merely nodding. He couldn't muster the usual smarmy attitude he had about conquests, knowing that he had probably fucked things up big time for all three of them, that the sleeping girl behind the door he just closed had no idea what his original intentions had been.<p>

"Told you I would," Sebastian retorted, keeping his voice down just as low so she wouldn't overhear them as he walked by Blaine to start coffee. "And I should really have you to thank," he continued, Blaine now leaning against their fridge. "If you hadn't decided to go sleep with someone else, she wouldn't have caved so willingly into my open arms."

"Doesn't prove that she wants you more than me," Blaine replied snidely, and the remark hit a little too close to something Sebastian wouldn't want to acknowledge, the thought having already lodged itself inside his brain in the middle of the night when she lay curled up against him, her curls cascading over his arm as he had held onto her. "If anything, it proves that I'm her first choice-and that you should back off."

"Why would I do that?" Sebastian snapped, Blaine's eyes widening slightly in response but staying quiet regardless. "See, to me, this is all a game," he lied, though he was much better at it than Blaine could ever hope to be. "I just want to see if I can get her to agree to something she wouldn't for anyone else while you're busy screwing other people behind her back."

"It's not behind her back!" Blaine exclaimed, louder than intended as both their heads moved in the direction of her room, though it remained silent as ever. "It's not-she chose this, for us, and if that's what she wants, then fine. If she's going to go fucking you, why shouldn't I take advantage of someone who wants only me?"

Sebastian wanted to shout that he _had _that, that he had two people like that and he was so far in denial that he was only making things worse, but the same could be said for either boy in the room. "Pouting is unattractive, Blaine," he said instead, Blaine rolling his eyes as he started out of the room. "Go fuck your little girlfriend, I'll stay here and take care of Rachel. I'll be sure to tell her you said 'hello' sometime after she's done sucking me off," he taunted, waiting for the sound of Blaine's door closing harshly once more before letting out a low sigh, leaning against the counter and giving in to the momentary panic that overtook him.


	7. Chapter 7

Rachel lay in her own bed, scenes from the previous night flashing behind closed eyes. She knew giving in to Sebastian once had been bad enough, twice something she could look over, but by the time they'd moved to her bedroom she stopped questioning it. The way she saw it now, they were both adults, and if Blaine wanted to go ahead and do the one thing she asked he hadn't, well then she could too.

It was a disaster of her own making, one that was surely only moments away from exploding, and she'd never been more confused in her life.

If she was completely honest with herself, part of why she'd been so adamantly against the idea of sleeping with Sebastian wasn't because of Blaine, or even Sebastian's normal 'fuck 'em and leave 'em' attitude. For one, the fact that Sebastian kept going back to Blaine and back to her proved that he was just as involved in whatever it was they were all doing now too, that his feelings ran deeper than lust and a desire to piss everyone off. But that was just as bad, because two people avoiding any type of deep emotional attachment was screwing with her head enough, but three would quite possibly ruin her.

She made up her mind quickly, knowing that even if she wanted him on any level, she wanted Blaine more, had always wanted Blaine, and if she was going to stop this, she'd have to do it before it happened again. She begrudgingly left her bed, seeking Sebastian out only to find him laying on his own, a look of torment upon his face like she'd never seen before.

"Sebastian-" she started, but he just shook his head, seeming to know what she wanted to say before the words even fell.

"It's fine, Rachel," he replied, something missing from his normal tone, and her heart ached as she moved towards him. "I get it."

"I don't," she replied honestly, and when he finally looked at her, confused and vulnerable and sad in a way she'd seen very few times across his features, she didn't stop herself from crashing her lips against his own, knowing she couldn't hurt him like this.

* * *

><p>"So I see you went back on the agreement," Blaine said later that evening as she sat in the living room, trying to focus on the television in front of her while her brain raced from all that had happened in the past few weeks.<p>

"I heard you did it first," she shot back, slightly annoyed at the intrusion. Blaine didn't even deny the statement, and she could see out of the corner of her eye the familiar movement of his hand on the back of his neck, his face contorted while deep in thought. She felt a slight twinge of pain for snapping at him, only adding more emotions into the already confusing jumble she was in. "What's happening to all of us?" she whimpered, pressing her face into her hands as she curled up into herself.

She felt Blaine's hands on her back before she even knew he had crossed the room, let him pull her into his lap and try and comfort her as she broke down. She wanted Blaine, she wanted Sebastian, she wanted both of them and it was too much, her entire being not used to this. In high school, when she had been dating Jesse and pining over Finn, it had been different. Things were simple, clean cut, laid out for them. She couldn't have both, and Jesse made the decision for her when he broke an egg on her head.

"Maybe we should all stop," Blaine breathed, the words barely louder than a whisper, and nothing terrified her more. She didn't think she _could _stop, and as she turned herself so that her hips were straddled over his own, his hands resting on her thighs as she closed the gap between them, he didn't argue her decision to hush him with a kiss. It was hungry and desperate and sad, Rachel trying to put all her doubts and insecurities and questions into it. _Who should I choose? Who should you choose? Which of us ends up alone? _

It wasn't something Blaine could answer for her, she knew that even as his hands moved up her shirt, his mouth just as hungry for her as she was for him, and it wasn't something Sebastian could answer for her either. It was something she'd have to figure out on her own, and she had no idea how to do so.

* * *

><p>Things didn't get any easier as time went on. Rachel continued bouncing back and forth between the two, hoping she'd find her answer if she just pushed through. She had no idea if Sebastian and Blaine were doing anything without her, the thought hurting too much to even imagine. She could feel both of them closing off from her, the emotional support she was so used to being turned into physical support, none of them speaking about what they were doing as they continued to spend their days and nights falling apart at the hands of one or the other.<p>

It was unhealthy, this dynamic they had fallen into, and it was desperate and needy and Rachel had no way of figuring out how to escape from it.

She demanded a house meeting one morning before Blaine disappeared to work, Sebastian off in his own direction. The boys hesitantly gazed up at her, and her heart was torn to realize just how attached they'd all gotten to this arrangement. Still, if she couldn't choose one of them, she'd have neither-it was the only way she could fix them all.

"I'm sure you have a vague notion of why I've called a meeting," Rachel said calmly, trying to keep her voice steady even as Sebastian leaned back, the trademark mask he wore so well falling in place as he made a snide remark about getting rid of the doors once more. "No, Sebastian, the doors are staying firmly in place," she replied warily.

"That's what you think," he replied, chuckling shortly as Blaine just leaned on the table, placing his head in his arms and waited for Rachel to continue.

"What's going on, Rach?" he asked quietly, and it was this that propelled Rachel forward with the speech she had been trying to push out of her for the past three days.

"At this point, we all know that the three of us have been having relations with each other," she started, Blaine's face remaining impassive as Sebastian smirked, "and that it's been getting more and more difficult to see where the lines are that I originally laid out with both of you when we started whatever it was that's been going on."

"Are you breaking up with us?" Sebastian asked, feigning a hurt look, and Rachel could only let out her own sigh of annoyance.

"Breaking up would entail that I was dating one of you, which I definitely was not. But the lines are getting blurry, and in order to preserve our friendships, I think it's time we stop."

"No offense, Rachel, but we've been through this. Our friendships are effectively ruined as it is," Blaine replied warily, in the same tone he'd taken to using whenever the two of them actually spoke to the other.

"Because we ruined them, Blaine," Rachel snapped, his eyes not even meeting hers as she pressed onwards. "Now, I obviously can't control what the two of you do behind my back, but as I'd like things to transition back into what they were as smoothly as possible, it would probably be a good idea for you two to also stop sleeping together."

"Rachel, can I be blunt?" Sebastian asked, throwing her off-guard.

"Aren't you always?" Blaine countered, turning slightly to face the other boy as Rachel nodded, knowing Sebastian would say what he wanted to regardless.

"I think there's a much simpler solution to all this," Sebastian started, a gleam in his eye that Rachel knew well enough by now not to trust.

"Sebastian," Blaine started, his voice hardened as if he was warning him against whatever he was going to say, only drawing Rachel closer with intrigue.

"Threesome."

Rachel crossed her arms over her chest, biting down on her lip as she thought about the implications, Blaine muttering about how if he got smacked he had tried to warn him. Rachel wasn't even appalled by the idea, which only went to show how much being around Sebastian-and sleeping with him for nearly 3 weeks-had changed her.

"I don't know," she said quietly, Blaine's head spinning in her direction.

"Rachel, you can't seriously be considering this," he said, a hint of panic in her voice that she couldn't quite understand as Sebastian continued his smirking, sitting back and watching the other two.

"It could help, though. Make decisions, and choices and-and then I would know, right?" she said quietly, her eyes pleading. Blaine shook his head adamantly, Sebastian nodding, and she was torn even more over who to agree with. It was like a never ending cycle, trying to choose between them, and she nodded even more resolutely at she came to her decision. "If you guys are in, I am too."

Blaine just scowled but nodded, Sebastian smiling in victory and leaning forward with his hand out, Rachel raising an eyebrow before she gave in and high-fived him. "I have to go to work," Blaine stated, his voice dead even as he stood, and Rachel could only watch him with a curious expression as Sebastian kissed her quickly, winking and promising that she wouldn't regret this before following the other boy out the door, leaving Rachel behind confused once more.

* * *

><p>They didn't make a specific plan, Blaine avoiding both of them until she cornered him two days later, asking him what was going on. "It's nothing," he brushed off, trying to walk past her when she shot her hand out and grabbed ahold of him.<p>

"It is too something, Blaine, and you're going to tell me what's happening right now!" she yelled, not bothering to keep her voice down even as Sebastian appeared from down the hall, watching them carefully.

"Rachel, please, I just-"

"No, Blaine Anderson, you've been walking around here like a kicked puppy for weeks now, and I'm sick of it!" she continued, pressing her index finger into his chest. "Either you tell me what's happening right now, or I'm done-regardless of what we discussed."

"Rachel," Sebastian said, but she didn't let herself get distracted, holding her ground as she stared up at Blaine firmly.

"Well?" She demanded, waiting for his response. He didn't seem to be able to offer her one, and when Sebastian slunk between them to diffuse the tension, his hand automatically resting on Rachel's hip, she tried to remained focused on Blaine's distance.

"Let it go, Rach," Sebastian whispered low near her ear, Blaine's face tightening even more as Sebastian placed himself behind her so that she couldn't see him, an arm wrapping around her and pulling her tight against him as his mouth moved across her neck.

"I want to-"

"He doesn't want to tell you," Sebastian interrupted, not even letting her finish the sentence as his other hand moved slowly up her shirt, her body already reacting quickly to his light touches. "I do, however, remember you agreeing to a threesome, which we could very well cash in on right now."

"But-" She tried again, but Blaine simply shut her up by moving his lips to her own, all the anger and frustration he seemed to have been keeping pent up being passed through their mouths as Sebastian chuckled against the nape of her neck.

She found herself trapped between the two of them as they all moved, both their attentions focused solely on her. She wasn't about to object, although the differing moods between them threw her off slightly. Blaine seemed desperate, needy, while Sebastian seemed to enjoy just taking his time, and the pacing was throwing her off. If anything, she'd have expected the opposite out of them, but she'd learned well enough to know never to expect anything from either.

This was all in the name of coming to a decision between the two of them for her, but as they crashed on Blaine's bed, limbs and sheets intertwined and woven amongst all of them, Rachel snug in the middle of both, she knew her decision was no easier now than it had been originally.


	8. Chapter 8

It took everything he had in him, but Blaine did as he had agreed, pulling away from Rachel reluctantly after their last time together. He had debated fighting Sebastian for just one more night of just him and her, but he knew if he did he wouldn't be able to stop and they'd end up in the never ending cycle he was trying to free them from. That he was _required _to free them from. It didn't matter to him that Sebastian wouldn't have done the same, that Sebastian would try and find a loophole to continue what he was doing. It wasn't even about that anymore, when it came down to it. She was right-this was destroying their friendship, and he couldn't take the idea of losing all of her. So he'd sacrifice what small claim he had stupidly been allowed, and hope that the rest would fall into place as it should.

He had debated not even going through with the threesome idea in the first place, but he knew Sebastian would argue that the bet was won, that she had agreed and that's all there was to it. He took it as his last opportunity, soaking in as much of Rachel as he possibly could. He knew that the weeks to come were going to be difficult, pulling away from both of them at once, but he had to go cold turkey or he'd only hurt both of them more in the end.

When she came to him the next day, looking as confused as ever, he let her work things out silently, her arms wrapping around his neck and pulling him towards her without stopping. It was only after a moment, Sebastian's form walking by his door, that he remembered this wasn't supposed to happen. That he had to tell her goodbye, that that side of their friendship was over. He allowed himself a final kiss before pulling back for good, before breaking both their hearts by saying 'no'.

It hurt, telling Rachel they had to stop, watching her face fall as he did the only thing he didn't want to and rejected her for the first time since she first came to him. She tried demanding answers, but Blaine couldn't give them to her. It'd only hurt her more, he decided, to find out that things hadn't happened between the three of them naturally. That a competitive streak between the two boys she was trying to figure out had ruined any real chance any of them had, that they had made the decision she couldn't seem to for her.

* * *

><p>"I didn't think you'd actually back off," Sebastian mused over breakfast one morning about a week or so after what Blaine had started calling 'the last battle' in his head. "I was surprised, at first, when Rachel came to me nearly four days in a row. Then I realized that she wasn't that hard up, you had just closed up shop."<p>

"That was the deal," Blaine replied wearily, not even bothering to pretend he wasn't disgusted with himself for giving into Sebastian's manipulation in the first place. He'd given into the self-loathing that he had tried to keep at bay the second he crawled out of his bed and left Sebastian and Rachel curled around each other that morning, the constant thoughts of _how could I have done this_ bearing down on him all day long. He tried drowning them out by going out with work friends, by hooking up with the girl he had taken out the infamous day Sebastian started sleeping with Rachel. Nothing worked, nothing got her out of his mind, nothing got Sebastian out. He was just as stuck in the triangle as he ever was, only without the added benefit of getting laid.

"Still, had I won the bet-"

"You wouldn't have backed off, I know," Blaine said, his voice not nearly as biting as he'd like it to have been. It had taken on a dull quality since he pushed Rachel away, one he couldn't shake as much as he'd like to have.

"You know, the bet was only that one of us would end up with her, not that we had to stop with each other," Sebastian continued after a couple of silent minutes, Blaine trying to focus on the toast in front of him. "Not that Rachel in my bed almost every day doesn't take it out of me, but I'd be willing to try another round just for you."

"Thanks," Blaine replied sarcastically as he moved around the kitchen to pour himself more coffee, Sebastian following quickly behind. It vaguely reminded him of their high school days, how predatory Sebastian had become back then, but he shook the thought as Sebastian cornered him into the counter, his teeth suddenly appearing at the nape of his neck. "Sebastian!" he hissed, pushing the other away and glaring at him.

"I'm just saying," Sebastian continued, completely unabashed as if he hadn't just tried to initiate anything in the middle of their kitchen, "just because the bet-"

"Bet?" the word was small, quiet, and Blaine and Sebastian both whirled around to see Rachel crossing her arms over her chest, watching them. "What bet?"

Sebastian opened his mouth, Blaine looking helplessly between the two of them, but even Sebastian seemed lost as for what to say. "It was just a small thing," Sebastian finally spit out, looking vaguely uncomfortable in a way that probably set Rachel off more than anything else would have.

"Did you guys make a bet over me?" she asked, her voice even lower, eyes wide and vulnerable, and if Blaine thought he hated himself before he was sure it was nothing compared to this moment. He watched as the silence made her face distort from her effort not to cry, and Blaine was sure getting stabbed in the heart would hurt less, his eyes torn between the two of them.

"Yes," Sebastian admitted, and her small cry that fell was almost worse than if she had suddenly exploded into a theatrical outburst, her arms wrapping tighter around herself as she looked at Blaine as if to confirm this. He felt completely out of control, and he didn't know if he wanted to get Sebastian to shut up or let him finish explaining. He didn't have to wait long before Sebastian started speaking once more, Blaine swallowing thickly as her face fell even more at his words. "Once you and Blaine started sleeping together, him and I made a bet that I could get you in bed as well, and that I could convince you it was a good idea for a threesome."

She made some sort of strangled noise at the admission, though her anger seemed directed at Sebastian for the time being, Blaine taking a hesitant step near her before her eyes locked on his. "Why would you agree to that?" she asked, and now her voice was gaining power, Blaine wincing slightly.

"I don't know, Rach, it was-I was being stupid, I guess," he tried, but she just glared at him.

"No, that's not good enough!" she yelled, her voice overtaking the entire apartment quickly. He tried reaching out for her, to calm her down or tell her what a mistake it had all been, but she swatted him away. "You _used _me, and hurt me, and all you can come up with is 'I was being stupid'?"

He shrugged helplessly, looking to Sebastian for help, but Sebastian seemed just as lost as he did. "I was confused, and _I _was hurt, Rach, because you didn't-you wanted me, and you wanted Sebastian, and you wanted casual, and I wanted so much more than that with you, and-"

"So you made a _bet _on if Sebastian could see if I was dense enough to fall into his arms?" she asked, her eyes narrow, and when he couldn't figure out a way to answer her, she slapped him, hard, across the cheek before moving across the kitchen and slapping Sebastian without preamble before storming out of the apartment. Blaine tried to follow her, got as far as the street below, but she had disappeared and he wasn't sure which way she went. He tried going down one end before backtracking to the other, but it was useless. She had been swallowed whole by the city of millions, and he had no way of knowing where exactly she was.

He'd never hated himself more.

* * *

><p>He called her, almost immediately, but her phone went straight to voicemail. He paced around the kitchen, not even bothering with work for the day as Sebastian seemed to be battling his own demons of mocking Blaine or actually feeling some sort of emotion about the events, and the longer he stayed quiet the longer Blaine could remain calm. Or, as calm as could be while he moved around the apartment, constantly hitting redial and leaving Rachel rambling messages he wasn't even sure she'd listen to.<p>

It took nearly two hours before Sebastian broke his silence and finally made a comment, and Blaine had to fight his own brain not to punch him in the face. "She's not even yours to fight for anymore, Blaine," Sebastian remarked, Blaine's fist curling inwardly on one hand as he pressed redial on his phone once again.

"I don't see you trying to get her back here, or explaining things, or making this easier on _any _of us," Blaine snapped, groaning in frustration when her voicemail picked up. "You wanted to win the bet so fucking bad, wanted her all to yourself, and now you're not even making a god damn effort for her. Was she even important to you, Sebastian? Or was she just another girl to you, just someone who was close enough to get you off whenever you wanted?" He was pissed, and he was taking it all out on Sebastian, but Sebastian didn't fight back against his words, and he was sure it only made him even angrier. "Why won't she just answer her fucking phone?" he practically yelled, stomping through the apartment and heading for her room, making sure she hadn't left it behind. Sebastian stayed behind, and whether he was helping or hindering at this point, Blaine didn't care.

He didn't sleep that night, worried about where she might have gone. She had turned her phone on, the simple message of 'stop calling' glaring at him from his own screen hurting almost more than the fact that she was missing. He had ignored it at first, continuing to try and call, but every single one got sent to voicemail and ignored, and so he did as requested and stopped.

Losing her and living with her had been one hell he was trying to work through, but losing her for good and not being able to see her was another he wasn't sure he was ready to cope with yet.

It went like that for three days, before Blaine came home one afternoon to see half her room cleared out, the simple note that she was gone for good left on the kitchen table. He tore the paper in half before throwing it out, kicking over a chair in annoyance as he stormed out to take his aggression and frustration out in a run, missing the days when he had attended Dalton and he could simply go to a Fight Club meeting and beat the shit out of someone without repercussion to get rid of all his emotions.

Sebastian didn't come home that night, leaving Blaine alone to drink in their kitchen in peace while he went over and over in his brain just on how badly things had fucked up.

She didn't give any indication as to where she was living, or hiding, or whatever it was she was doing, and by the end of the next week Blaine was so frustrated he didn't even bother fighting Sebastian off when he tumbled into his bed. The way he saw it, they had both fucked everything up, and all they really had left was each other.


	9. Chapter 9

The day Rachel left, Sebastian realized just how much he had fucked up. Her note on the kitchen counter, written in her girlish script, complete with a gold star regardless of how pissed and upset she was, nearly stabbed him in the gut. He knew Blaine would be pissed, would lash out, and while a part of Sebastian almost wanted him to react that way in his direction, Sebastian ultimately decided to flee for himself, taking residence in some girl whose name he'd never figure out completely because he just didn't care to.

It went like that for a few weeks, Blaine angrily slamming doors shut in a way far too reminiscent of the girl they'd lost, when he wasn't busy pouting and looking sorry for himself. Sebastian tried to take it in stride, tried to pretend that Rachel's sudden disappearance meant nothing to him, but the truth was it did. It hurt more than he could have ever admitted to himself, or to Blaine, or even to Rachel. He could see the looks Blaine shot him sometimes, the ones that were buried beneath layers of rage and aggression, where Sebastian worried he might _actually _give in to the desire that clearly tempted him, worried his fist would actually end up in Sebastian's face one day. And most of the time, Sebastian wanted him to do it too.

He didn't know how to tell Blaine that he missed Rachel too, that he missed _Blaine_, and he didn't even know how he had gotten to the point where he missed either of them. Somewhere along the lines, it had stopped being a game to even him, and he was reminded of why he kept emotions out of sex, because it never ended well for anyone involved.

Deep down, he knew that the way things had unraveled fell on his shoulders. Blaine and Rachel may have worked things out on their own, had he not interjected himself onto both of them. It was him that undid any real possibility for the two of them, and that realization was the worst. His own selfish desires had ruined all three of them, and none of them were whole enough to pick up the pieces.

Blaine didn't let him apologize when he tried, instead the two falling back into the same pattern they had before, and even if the sex wasn't the same-there was something missing, he knew, even as they went through the motions time and time again. He knew his feelings for Blaine were more than sexual, more than friendship, and he knew Blaine felt the same towards him. But without Rachel around, a part of their lives-it wasn't the same. It was like they both needed her there to be themselves, to feel the happiness they once had, to remind themselves of who they were.

The three of them, he realized, needed each other. And it was weird, and it was fucked up, but he couldn't have one and not the other anymore, and he suspected the same came true for them. There was only so much of the moody Blaine he could take before he broke himself, but it wasn't Blaine's place to find Rachel and fix things.

Sebastian knew that fell on his shoulders.

* * *

><p>He didn't know where she was living, but he knew it was up to him to go find her. He tried the theater she worked at, only for them to turn him away. He tried waiting for her to appear outside it, cup of tea in hand as a way to get her to even acknowledge him, but after two hours he came to the conclusion that she knew he was there and was adamantly refusing to come out. That, or she'd left out a side door he didn't know about.<p>

It took him nearly a week before he found her, and when he did, it was purely accidental. She was walking up the steps to a brownstone he vaguely remembered one of her co-stars lived in from a party a few months prior, and when he shouted her name, she nearly dropped everything in her hands.

"Go away," she stated, making sure her voice was clear as she glared at him. "I don't want you or Blaine anywhere near me ever again." Her words stung, deep and harsh just as her slap had done that first day. Still, he persevered, not one to give up after one jab.

"Rachel, hear me out, please," he tried again, handing her the notebook she had dropped at his appearance.

"I said, go away," she hissed, managing to open the door and attempting to slam it in his face, only for him to push through it regardless. She huffed, letting out a loud noise of disgust before storming away from him, Sebastian quick to follow.

"No, because you deserve an explanation, and unless you can tell me this past month has been fucking rainbows and sunshine, I'm going to demand five minutes of your time until you listen to me," Sebastian retorted, quickly finding his stride back in himself, the quick remarks and wit all falling back in place. He hadn't realized how out of sync he felt with himself until she was there, ignoring him and trying once more to slam another door in his face, his retort of "We really need to get all doors out of your path one day," falling easier than anything else had in months.

"Shut up about the fucking doors Sebastian!" she yelled, dumping her stuff into a room that was only half as large as the one she had waiting for her back at their apartment, the one that had been untouched since she left. She whirled around to face him, hands on her hips and fire in her eyes as she glared at him. "Fine, you have five minutes, talk, and then leave!"

Sebastian took a deep breath, moving closer to her only to have her move away, his eyes rolling as he brushed past her to sit on her bed regardless, making himself comfortable. "You might as well join me," he remarked, but her eyes stayed narrow in his direction, her entire body looking as if it was ready to flee at any point in time, and he finally gave in, bowing his head for a moment before he started. "You need to come back, Rachel, we've-well, we've barely been able to cope without you around. And before you start yelling again-I know what an ass I was, that it was my fault. I was jealous and petty that Blaine got you when I couldn't, that you got him when I couldn't, and so I made a bet with him."

"You could have-"

"I couldn't have done anything. Blaine might have fallen into my charms easily, but it took manipulating both of you against each other for you to give me a shot. And even then, I was still second best to Blaine for you." She bit her lip, looking guilty and he knew the words to be true, but what was more was that he didn't care about coming in second anymore, not if it meant at least having her back. "Blaine was confused, and he was hurt you only wanted him for sex, and I played into the part of him that wants both of us. I played into the part that wanted you, and only you, because it was winner takes all-with you as our prize."

"That's so wrong, Sebastian!" she cried, though some of the anger was fading from her eyes, and it brought a small smile back onto his face.

"You're right," he said, nodding in agreement, and that seemed to startle her more than anything. "And when you started feeling more for Blaine or me, instead of talking about it, what did you do?"

"That's not fair," she accused, and he could only shrug.

"It was where we all messed up, pretty girl," he said, hoping that the nickname would give him something from her, some small reaction, and sure enough a pink flush covered her cheeks momentarily before she seemed to fight it off. "Instead of talking, we kept fucking, and that's what I'm trying in vain to right."

"You hurt me," Rachel said, though her voice was calmer now and she seemed to take a step towards him. "You made me feel used and worthless." It pained him to hear that, and he pulled her down next to him, pleased when she did so willingly.

"And that was so fucking wrong of me, because you're not worthless. You're-fuck, Rachel, you're going to make me get sappy now aren't you?" he asked with a groan, though her smile in return seemed to press him forward. He knew in order to get her back, he'd have to break down some of the walls he kept so well built, that he'd have to show her just how important she was, and that meant being vulnerable, even if he didn't want to be. "I promise you, you're not worthless. I mean, fuck, I'm worthless without you around," he stuttered, wanting to kick himself internally for how stupid he sounded. "You're wonderful, Rachel, and I was an idiot to make you think otherwise."

She gnawed on her lip, her hand intertwined with his own as she looked into the distance. "But, what about Blaine?"

"Funny thing is, I'm pretty sure he wants you back just as much-if not more-than I do," Sebastian shrugged, his own grin returning easily at her flush. "Look, it'll be really weird, all three of us-but, bottom line, we all want each other, right?"

"How is that even going to work?" Rachel asked quietly, Sebastian silently congratulating himself for even getting her to come around, even if it was hesitantly.

"Fuck if I know," he replied honestly. "But, if you want to-"

"I do," she said, quickly, interrupting him, and he could only smile as she found his lips with her own, a strangled laugh coming out of him as she pulled him close. "We'll figure it out, all three of us, together," she said, her eyes shining bright as he pushed a stray hair out of her face.

"Anything for you, pretty girl," he promised, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Now, let's go get a certain ex-Warbler out of his self-imposed funk."

* * *

><p>He made Rachel wait in the hallway, already exhausted after having listened to an entire months' worth of news on the way over from where she had been staying, her mouth moving non-stop even as he zoned out slightly, his hand resting on her knee. He didn't think talking things out would work in his favor so quickly, and while he knew there was a lot the three of them would have to figure out, knowing she wasn't pissed beyond belief was enough for now.<p>

"Blaine!" Sebastian called, finding the other laying on the couch with a book on his stomach, not even bothering to pretend reading it. "I have a surprise for you," Sebastian teased, Blaine rolling his eyes.

"I don't feel like fooling around right now," he replied in the dreaded voice Sebastian had learned to resent with every fiber of his being.

"While I'm usually sure I can turn that phrase around, not what I was talking about," he retorted, waving Rachel in from where she hovered at the door. Blaine was ready to snap something back at him when he sat up, his gaze moving from Sebastian to the brunette next to him, his eyes opening wide and the life looking like it had finally returned to him for the first time in weeks.

"Rachel?" he breathed, and she nodded, barely able to keep the smile off her face.

"Sebastian found me, and he explained everything and-I mean, I know why you did what you did, and I wasn't 100% innocent in how everything played out, and-" Sebastian watched as Blaine stood and moved towards them, wrapping Rachel up in his arms before she could even finish her statement, a small 'oh!' falling from her lips as she wrapped her own arms around Blaine.

"You're back for good?" Blaine asked, eager and desperate, and when Rachel nodded, he could only hold her even tighter, mouthing 'thank you' in Sebastian's direction as Rachel reached an arm out for him, pulling him into their embrace as well.

* * *

><p><strong>an: **thank you all to the wonderful people reading (and reviewing omg i love all your reviews so much ty ty ty) this insanity of a crackship me and the wonderful kira (claddaugh ring-whose fics you DEFINITELY should be reading) made up. and an extra special huge wonderful thank you for the rest of time _to _kira for reading this all as i went and helping me when i got stuck and to everyone who asked for more.  
>this is the end of <em>this <em>particular fic, but i am sort of in love with the 'verse in general and have a few oneshots planned for it, which will go in a different fic but will be updated as they come. i hope everyone is happy i managed to make it a happy ending :)


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